ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how spaces of commercial sex, whether targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans (LGBT), are regulated by the state and law to normalize a specific notion of heterosexuality. It considers the ways in which planning acts to resolve the seemingly intractable conflicts between sex businesses and those who object to their presence in their streets and neighborhoods. The chapter focuses on four different sites of commercial sex: spaces of street sex work, off-street sex premises, sex shops and sites of adult entertainment, each of which raises particular quandaries for planning. Whilst the UK shares much in common with other Western nations where technological changes have made commercial sex more visible, and arguably democratic, the 'sexualization of culture' has been challenged in a number of ways. Commercial sex, whether in the form of prostitution, sex retailing, adult entertainment, remains a highly contested realm, with places and spaces of sex consumption often caught up in the politics of NIMB Yism.
